Saturn in Sagittarius: Finding Meaning in Pain

 

Without shame or apology, I consider myself to be an optimist of great proportions. Any way you slice it, there’s a generous amount of Sagittarian faith, enthusiasm and idealism pulsating through my psyche. I don’t really place a value judgement on this as “good” or “bad” other than to say  it’s unfolded as necessary for my total development as a human being.

While my optimism and hope for the future can create an incredibly breathtaking vision, it also comes with its share of challenges.

With Saturn moving into Sagittarius, one of the messages which the universe has for us is that of tempering our enthusiasm in service of a grounded reality. During the next 2.5 years or so, we’ll be receiving a series of wake up calls and “chin checks” with the understanding, as Dr. Amos Wilson lays out, that hope, when distorted, can become pathological:

“Hope is a wonderful thing in some senses, but it can be pathological in others. The neurotic individual uses hope in a pathological way. He lives in hope and doesn’t know when to give it up. There’s a time that hope has to be given up; when one looks at reality for what it is and one accepts certain aspects of that reality and moves on it.”

It’s now more evident than ever, that it’s time for us to move on the current reality by defining and understanding our individual and collective pain.  During this passage, we can become philosophical about our discomfort, making deeper inquiries as to get to the root of our issues, asking ourselves:

” What lessons need to be learned from our pain?” “Have we learned them?” “What part of the pain is our responsibility?” “How were we hurt?” “How has this hurt affected us?” “Why did it hurt so much?” “How did we choose to react?” “Why did we react in that manner?”

All of the signs point to the universe asking us, as bell hooks says, to: “tell our story, and name our pain”.

We’re ALL being invited to a party, and asked to come SOBER. This soiree’ is about truth-telling as a means to facilitate individual and collective healing which can unfold into a greater degree of wisdom and maturity.

Saturn’s symbolism suggests lessons learned, while Sagittarius’ domain is higher education. This means that learning through and from experience can be the most advanced form of instruction that we can receive if we allow ourselves to courageously remain open.

Granted, some life lessons may be learned relatively easy, but with Saturn in the picture, we can be sure of a couple of things; (1) There are no quick fixes or shortcuts to solving what’s ailing us, and (2) there’s a degree of thoroughness involved so we won’t forget what life is trying to teach us.

It’s through utilization of the Saturn principles of definition and responsibility that we develop a thicker skin, which ultimately activates the building of solidity and character.

If we choose to deny our past or current hurts, thereby restricting ourselves from the feelings which accompany them, this makes the healing process virtually impossible. However, if we create an avenue for unbridled emotional experience, no matter how tumultuous, and we can recognize the instructive value contained within our anxiety, this places us one step closer to the vision Kahlil Gibran had in mind when he stated:

“Your pain is but the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

To live deeply, we must have the courage to feel deeply, and to feel deeply isn’t always pleasant.  In fact, some of the defenses we erect in the name of avoiding our pain can actually direct us away from healing. A quality life isn’t necessarily an easy one, but we must use our distress as a form of enlightenment.

Revealing and working with our wounds and hurts doesn’t make us weak. Pain gives us a danger alert. It guides us to realize when enough is enough and helps us to establish limits surrounding the extent of damage done to us. Some of us experience a fair amount of guilt or internalized anger because we have difficulty distinguishing being viewed a “bad” person from one who makes mistakes like anyone else.

During this passage of Saturn in Sagittarius, we’re sure to receive back results which are in exact accordance with what we give where honesty is concerned. It’s accurate to say that our dishonesty and distortion of reality can work against us during the healing process. It’s through our self-induced disillusionment that we’ll experience the limited, restrictive and doubt ridden side of the Saturn archetype. As bell hooks states:

“commitment to truth is the first step in any process of self-recovery.”

If we’re familiar with Saturn’s energy, we’ve realized for some time now that it doesn’t “do” posturing. As long as we feel compelled to act in this manner to “save face”, do damage control, blame others, get even, etc, we’ll feel the weight and burden so heavily intertwined with the ringed planet.

Liz Greene elaborates:

” The frustrating experiences which are connected with Saturn are obviously necessary as the are educational in a practical as well as a psychological sense. Whether we use psychological or esoteric terminology, the basic fact remains the same: human beings do not earn free will except through self-discovery and they do not attempt self discovery until things become so painful that they have no other choice.”

Saturn in Sagittarius can ultimately serve us as a constructive cycle if we harness the dedication and fortitude necessary to consistently look at reality with a poker face and strategically apply our behavior to the context of that reality, all the while, preparing ourselves to make adjustments to the changing landscape.

Photo: rd.com

References:

Emotional Resilience: Simple Truths For Dealing With The Unfinished Business of Your Past by David Viscott, M.D.

sisters of the yam: black women and self-recovery by bell hooks

Afrikan-Centered Consciousness VS. The New World Order: Garveyism in The Age of Globalism by Dr. Amos N. Wilson

Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil by Liz Greene